Contrast this to dogs.
While local councils are often slow to patch up potholes, they seem
extra efficient when acting on complaints against canines.
Have
any cats been killed in ādrive-byā shootings? Yet this is how four stray
dogs were āterminatedā in November 2021 in Perak by Kampar district council officers.
Did the officers feel like they were acting out some Arnold Schwarzenegger movie role?
When
this became a court case, the local council claimed that its officers
shot the dogs as they were āaggressiveā and had ābared their fangsā at
them. Imagine if cats had hissed, growled and showed their fangs when
confronted by the officersā¦ and this then was used as ājustificationā to
shoot them.
Iāve seen dogs getting shot by local council officers
before. Itās not as if these guys are super sharp marksmen who can
instantly kill a dog with a shot to the head or heart.
Often, they
hit the legs or stomachā¦ and the poor creature then runs off howling to
hide somewhere, doomed to a slow, painful death. Itās a horrible scene.
After
public outcries, dog shootings have been replaced (except in Kampar?)
with the more āhumaneā method of catching them by the necks with nooses
attached to long poles. But have we ever heard of cats being caught with
such nooses after residentsā complaints?
Have cats been dragged by the neck over gates? As was done to a poor dog in February in Kulim, Kedah?
Have cats been noosed until their mouths bled, as inflicted on a dog last August in Klang?
Are
stray cats caught and then crammed into dilapidated local council
pounds? And then left to starve to death as was done to dogs at the
Kuala Langat Municipal Council (MPKL) in Selangor in January?
These latter three cases hit the news after being captured on video. What about all those which were not filmed?
Victimising the victim
What
if seven council officers had come to snatch away the pesky cats of
someone like my neighbour? Letās say heās a 69-year-old man who loves
his pets. Of course, it would be natural for him to protect them, for
example by herding them into his house compound.
Now imagine, as
he tries to close his gate, the cat catchers rough him up. They try to
push into his house and hit him with the long pole. The incident is
caught on CCTV and the videos go viral, provoking public outrage. But
instead of punishing the officers for using excessive force, the police
instead charge the old man for āobstructing public officialsā.
Of course, such a scenario is unimaginable for cats in Malaysia. But for dogs, sorry to say, it is exactly what happened to Patrick Khoo, aged 69, when Petaling Jaya city council (MBPJ) officers came to nab some dogs in his area.
Were
such ruffian tactics necessary? Why not just issue a fine? Were the
officers guilty of assault? How about trespassing on private property?
In the videos, itās clear that the officers behaved aggressively and
rudely towards Khoo.
This
is not very āmadaniā or ācivilisedā behaviour at all, especially
towards an old man whose only ācrimeā was that he cared for some strays.
What if Khoo was an American? It would have become world news.
To
now charge him in court is equivalent to adding insult to injury. Itās
victimising the victim. Itās the Little Napoleons declaring: āWe hold
the power, how dare you question us?ā
And the leaders of the three
local councils mentioned here - Klang, MPKL and MBPJ - are all
appointed by the Selangor state government under Pakatan Harapan. I had
expected better from them. This again shows the urgent need for a local
council election.
Two Malaysias
Of course, I
am not saying that because some are cruel to dogs, we should be cruel
to cats too. We should be kind to both, indeed to all animals.
Yes,
dogs can cause problems. But so can cats. However, as with all things
in this country, there are double standards in this issue.
While
the number of dogs per house is limited by local councils, how could my
neighbour have eight cats? And he could always claim that they were
strays because cats are not required to get licences. Itās a social rule
that dog owners should clean up their petsā poo. But do cat owners do
this?
My friend C Das laments, āLocal councils like Shah Alam
intimidate dog owners into confiscating their pets whenever complaints
are made. Even if the dog is licensed and has been with them for years.
But council officers usually donāt even investigate if the complaints
are valid, which they should by law.ā
Itās a āTale of Two
Malaysiasā, where one groupās āsensitivitiesā seem to get more priority,
while what is dear and precious to another group is disregarded.
As
George Orwell wrote in his satirical novel āAnimal Farmā: āAll animals
are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.ā
After the
MPKL starving of dogs was exposed, (former) Malacca chief minister
Sulaiman Md Ali ordered animal shelters in the state to be inspected.
"Itās not the way to treat Godās creations,ā he said.
The Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor also pointed out that the standard operating procedures at animal detention centres in the state must be reviewed.
"There should not be a video showing the dogs as if they were mistreated, neglected and unmanaged," she said.
She
recommended that every district should have animal welfare officers
working with animal lovers to encourage the spaying (neutering) of
abandoned animals.
Indeed, dog advocacy groups have advocated
the trap-neuter-release-manage method for strays, which has proven to
be effective in Istanbul, Turkiye. This is where street dogs are
neutered, vaccinated and fed daily.
Itās time to stop the
prejudice and phobia against dogs (and their owners). Instead, itās time
for a more compassionate approach to our canine friends. This should be
the madani or ācivilisedā way forward.
